Project information

Special Educational Needs Training

Working with a local school, Hednesford Valley High, to offer training and work experience to young adults with special educational needs. This will be a range of specific courses offering an internationally recognised qualification at the end of it along with work experience and social exposure.

Charity information: Cycle-r

Need

Cycle-R operate in an area that is recognised as having high levels of deprivation. The percentage of working age people claiming Job Seekers Allowance in Cannock North and Cannock South, is significantly above the England Rate Cycle-R have been in operation for 12 months and have noticed an increase in the need for these training facilities (as evidenced by the increase in requests for volunteering and training opportunities, from 9 per month to over 200 to date.

Solution

Cycle-R are looking to move from a simple low level generic training delivery to being able to offer training, qualifications and work experience to a broader range of those in need including:
Those with a social exclusion, especially children
Long term unemployed
Those with learning difficulties, especially children
Specifically, at this time, Hednesford Valley High has asked us to train and develop 8 of their students and offer ad-hoc training to a further 45

Impact

Long term changes will include:
Work placements or employment to the students with SEN's
The encouragement for cycling as a sport and method of fitness for the local school children
The advanced training of a volunteer and the offering of a full time, permanent position for a long term, unemployed disabled person
In the longer term the advancement of Cycle-R as a training centre for Cannock Chase offering more training and volunteer positions

Risk

The main risks are financial, if the funds for the project cannot be raised, then it will simply not happen.`This will mean that over 50 people won't receive training or be offered the opportunity for future employment.

Reporting

Report will be on a monthly basis with email and/or telephone updates. Donors are welcome to come into the shop at any time to view the progress of students and staff

Current Funding / Pledges

Location

Cycle-R operate in an area that is recognised as having high levels of deprivation. (See Cannock Chase Locality Evidence 2015 - The percentage of working age people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) in Cannock North and Cannock South, is significantly above the England Rate) However, Cannock Chase is also recognised as one of the best cycling areas in the country with great opportunities for work in this area.

Beneficiaries

The project is aimed at long term unemployed and young adults with special educational needs. Cannock is recognised as being a low income area with over 25% of families requiring some form of benefit support to make ends meet, there is also a larger than average proportion of multi-generational unemployed families in the area, this project, in a small way, aims to break these poverty cycles.

Why Us?

Cycle-R have been offering similar training for over 12 months now and this project is an expansion and formalisation of this. There is no-one in the area who offers a similar project or who has a focus on the advancement of cycling.